IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SenoRx, Inc. (Nasdaq:SENO) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company its sixth brachytherapy-related patent and fourth patent directly related to its Contura(tm) Multi-Lumen Radiation Balloon (MLB) catheter for the treatment of breast cancer. The new claims allowed in United States Patent No. 7,465,268 add to SenoRx's current intellectual property relating to asymmetrically irradiating a patient's breast with the Contura MLB after breast biopsy or lumpectomy procedures.
SenoRx received 510(k) clearance for Contura MLB from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2007 for delivering radiation to the tissue surrounding the lumpectomy cavity following surgery for breast cancer. For appropriate patients, Contura MLB is one of a new class of devices which may reduce treatment time to five days from six to eight weeks. SenoRx believes that the Contura MLB may play an important role in the shift from traditional whole breast radiation therapy to localized partial breast radiation therapy. Contura MLB's unique multi-lumen design delivers consistently improved dosimetric coverage of the targeted tissue while minimizing the radiation dose to healthy tissue. Some patients who are presently candidates for balloon therapy are currently excluded because of the location of the lesion and their breast size. Contura MLB's advanced multi-lumen design may help address this issue for certain patients. Full commercial launch of Contura MLB began in early 2008.
SenoRx now owns 52 issued United States patents primarily covering devices relating to breast biopsy, including biopsy site marking devices, excision devices and radiation balloon products and a total of 68 patents held by SenoRx on a worldwide basis.
About SenoRx
SenoRx (Nasdaq:SENO) develops, manufactures and sells minimally invasive medical devices used by breast care specialists for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, including its EnCor(r) vacuum-assisted breast biopsy system and Contura(tm) MLB catheter for delivering radiation to the tissue surrounding the lumpectomy cavity following surgery for breast cancer. SenoRx's field sales organization serves over 1,000 breast diagnostic and treatment centers in the United States and Canada. In addition, SenoRx sells several of its products through distributors in more than 20 countries outside the U.S. and Canada. The company's line of breast care products includes biopsy disposables, biopsy capital equipment, diagnostic adjunct products and therapeutic disposables. SenoRx is developing additional minimally invasive products for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. For more information, visit the company's website at www.senorx.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning SenoRx's ability to successfully expand the balloon market and offering a new solution for patients that are not otherwise candidates for balloon therapy are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current, preliminary expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause SenoRx's actual results to differ materially from the statements contained herein. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect SenoRx's business and its financial results are detailed in its most recently filed quarterly report on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. SenoRx undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.